May 21 1996
From The Space Library
The Boeing Company, Honeywell Space Systems, and the S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia), based in Kaliningrad, Russia, announced a new venture to reduce significantly the cost and time involved in transporting payloads to the Mir space station. Boeing estimated that the service would save one year and would cut the cost of transporting a standard payload to space by at least US$7 million. The three companies split duties to maximize efficiency. Boeing assumed control of the overall management and payload-system integration; Honeywell accepted responsibility for providing payload-interface units and payload-integration support; and RSC Energia signed on to provide launch services and to oversee installation on Mir. Decreasing the expenses involved in sustaining Mir had become urgent in the 1990s, when both Russian and American space agencies had to respond to their governments' respective budget cuts.
Scientists revealed that their analysis of the data from NASA's Galileo probe had offered new insights into Jupiter's climate. The probe found winds of 400 miles (640 kilometers) per hour, extending about 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from the planet's core to its cloud top and producing storms that could last for centuries. The findings indicated that heat at Jupiter's core fueled the winds. Galileo released a probe, which parachuted 400 miles (640 kilometers) through Jupiter's atmosphere to gather its data, enduring temperatures ranging from -171°F to 305°F (-113°C to 152°C). The probe exploded after gathering and transmitting the data.
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